GK Prison Kitengela primary school has suspended all Physical Exercise (P.E) Education lessons following increased cases of fainting due to hunger.
GK Prison primary school is the most populous school in Kitengela seving more than 1,600 pupils from Kitengela town and its environs. On average, the school administration says they record a 30% absenteeism across all classes every 3 days of the week, mainly due to hunger
However, the turnout on Wednesday and Friday is 99% because there is a well-wisher who sponsors all the students with a meal of rice, beans and spinach.
Hunger is a menace that has hit many parts of the country. Teachers at the school say that a candidate awaiting final exams end of November, fainted during an assembly session.
They later discovered that the pupil had not eaten for the entire weekend and was sent to school on an empty stomach.
“Our PE lessons are now verbal engagement. We have suspended physical activities like football and racing due to high cases of children fainting. The emergency cases have increased and upon first aid, we discovered that the incidents were as a result of hunger,” school head teacher Nancy Ledama said.
Teachers and well-wishers are now joining hands to buy milk packets for the students to help resuscitate those who faint over hunger.
Instead of P.E lessons, teachers utilize that time to counsel and mentor the hunger-stricken children.
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There are a few students, however, who carry packed food to school. This has seen cases of stealing food on the rise among peers at the school.
“The few children who can afford to carry some little food to school is also proving to be a big challenge. The hungry lot with nothing to eat steal the food,” deputy headteacher David Kashekwa said.
The school administration is now appealing to be considered among needy learning institutions that require urgent food interventions.
“If we get food relief, we will be able to sustain more children in school. A meal every day will play a huge role in encouraging pupils to report to the school,” Jeremia Maloi, a teacher, said.
This comes amid concerns by Kajiado leaders over the rampant cases of school dropout occasioned by drought effects in the region.
Most locals entirely depend on livestock business to make a living but the prices of emaciated cattle have sharply declined amid dozens of cattle succumbing to hunger.
